When I used to work for Leonard Bernstein’s estate, one thing that came up often was the mispronunciation of his surname. Lots of people pronounce it the way you pronounce Bruce Spingsteen’s name, when actually it’s pronounced the way you pronounce Albert Einstein’s name. Bernstein himself used to correct people by asking, “Well, you wouldn’t say Gertrude Steen, would you? You wouldn’t say Albert Eensteen, would you?”
But then there are people named Bersteen, as well, who spell it the exact same way Bernstein spelled his name. So how is one to know?
Simple! Follow the German language, which is way more phonetically consistent than ours. You see, most of these names are German in origin, so it makes a lot of sense that we should adopt their spellings and pronunciations. I took German in college, and that set me straight, but if you never studied the language, here’s how it goes:
If it’s spelled with an ei (like Bernstein), it’s an eye sound. If it’s spelled with an ie (like Spielberg), it’s an eee sound.
Pretty easy to remember, right? None of this silly I before E except after C business (poor height and seize, and all the other nonconformists).
So what about those Berstiens who spell it Berstein, but pronounce it Bernstien? Well, somewhere along the line, between Germany and America, it got bastardized. So they’re actually mispronouncing their own names. Shhh. Don’t tell.
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From Brian Regan:
I before e except after c
or when sounding like a
as in neighbor or way
or on weekends and holidays
and all throughout May
and you’ll always be wrong
no matter what you say!
posted by KJ on 10-14-2009 at 8:39 am
What about Woodward and Bernstein? Every time their on some news talk show it’s pronounced “steen”. Guess it’s how you want it pronounced
posted by Matt on 10-14-2009 at 9:16 am
Thanks for this!People mispronounce my last name that is with an ‘ie’ all the time. I grew up in Germany and I speak fluent German and like you said German is pronounced the same way it is spelled, so it’s not that hard to pronounce things correctly.
posted by Emma on 10-14-2009 at 9:17 am
I heard his quote (from him, mind you) as follows: “What type of piano do I play? A Steen-way or a Styne-way? There you go!”
posted by MattG on 10-14-2009 at 9:33 am
I have never heard the name Goldstein pronounced any other way than “steen.”
posted by Bubba on 10-14-2009 at 10:41 am
My last name is spelled Deitz, pronounced Deetz. So many people pronounce it the other way, I have all but given up correcting people. When I tell them it’s German, then they get it. But my maiden name was even worse, so I’m used to it.
posted by Amy D on 10-14-2009 at 11:36 am
For what it’s worth…
When I was in college, our Philharmonic conductor told us that he had studied with and become longtime friends with Leonard Bernstein. He said that on one occasion during a rehearsal, Bernstein was asked about the pronunciation of his last name.
He replied “Burn-Stine, just like Beer Stein”.
I never forgot that, and I never needed to ask again.
posted by Jeffrey on 10-14-2009 at 11:39 am
A little way to remember it that I picked up in German class was “when two German vowels go walking, the second one does the talking.” That was an easy way to remember that when you see “ie” you pronounce it like the English “e”, and vice versa with “ei”.
posted by Cara on 10-14-2009 at 11:49 am
From Gallagher:
I before E
except after C,
except after this
except after that
except after so many things you wouldn’t think there was ever enough of a trend to make a rule.
posted by Wayne on 10-14-2009 at 1:31 pm
As a German teacher, I have a little saying for my students:
When an I and an E go walking, the second one does the talking.
That pretty much covers it :)
posted by Fruppi on 10-14-2009 at 2:12 pm
Oh, and I didn’t read the comments carefully enough to see that Cara had already posted this :)
posted by Fruppi on 10-14-2009 at 2:16 pm
I know multiple people named Weiner who pronounce it like “WEE-ner” instead of “WHY-ner”. You’d think they would prefer it the other way around, especially since it’s the correct way.
posted by Wilson on 10-14-2009 at 8:57 pm
I agree with Bubba. I’ve never heard it pronounced Goldstine. Doesn’t mean it isn’t bastardized, just that it’s the norm now.
posted by Goldstein on 10-14-2009 at 9:07 pm
My German grandmother’s maiden name was a -Stein name and always pronounced -Steen.
posted by Lola on 10-14-2009 at 10:11 pm
It’s easy…
a good mnemonic for “ie”, “ei” pronunciation is:
Schneiders Wieners – I bet you know better than to say Schneeders Whiners.
posted by John on 10-14-2009 at 10:25 pm
“When E and I go walking, the second does the talking!”
Courtesy of Frau Keller, the best German teacher ever.
posted by natalie on 10-14-2009 at 11:33 pm
I know a family whose surname has both. There’s “ei” in the first syllable and “ie” in the second(last) syllable. My buddy complained that “Everybody has trouble with the pronunciation!” and that he always has to tell people ‘ei’ is eye, ‘ie’ is eee.
posted by Tdave on 10-15-2009 at 2:14 pm
Great post!
posted by Logan on 10-19-2009 at 5:09 am
Most of the disputed pronounciations are of Jewish names which were originally from Germany. The Yiddish language mostly comes from the Mainz River area which had it’s own dialect of German at that time. Usually when the stein appeared at the end if a two syllabe named it was pronounced STEEN.
I know having grown with many such names including a Bernstein family but pronounced BernSTEEN. Had Leonard asked his grandfather he would know the proper pronounciation was BernSTEEN.
posted by Steve Friedberg on 1-28-2012 at 11:59 pm